Student desk

ABSTRACT

A student desk having a horizontal top, leg structures at each side of the top, and a book box offset toward one side of and below the top. The book box has a sidewall and lower wall inclined from horizontal in the same direction to support books in both a standup or laydown position. The book box is secured to the top and to the leg structure at one side of the desk, a modesty panel is secured to the book box and the leg structure at the other side of the desk, and the book box and panel strengthen the leg structures.

United States Patent Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee STUDENT DESK 14 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 312/194 Int. Cl .i A47b 17/00 Field of Search 312/194,

[ 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,922,215 8/1933 Newberg 312/194 2,856,252 10/1958 Herring 312/194 Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney-Markva, Smith & Kruger ABSTRACT: A student desk having a horizontal top, leg structures at each side of the top, and a book box offset toward one side of and below the top. The book box has a sidewall and lower wall inclined from horizontal in the same direction to support books in both a standup or laydown position. The book box is secured to the top and to the leg structure at one side of the desk, a modesty panel is secured to the book box and the leg structure at the other side of the desk, and the book box and panel strengthen the leg structures.

PATENTEDqcI 19ml 3.614.186

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firm/avers box or compartment for standup or laydown storage of students books.

Student desks known in the past have included'a book box or compartment offset to one side of the desk top and suspended from'the top to provide a knee space for'the student at one side of the book box. The previously known desks,

however, were inconvenient for the student'to use because the book box was either too large'or too small. Where the book box was made large enough to accommodate all the student's books including large size notebooks, the knee space adjacent the book boxwas inadequate for student comfort-On'the other hand, where the book box was made small'enough to provide for adequate knee space, the book box was of insufficient size to hold all the various sizes of books, including notebooks, which the student would customarily place in the book box.

An additional shortcoming of the priorart desks resides in that the prior book boxes do not maintain the books in a standup or upright position. With the prior art boxes, it is virtually impossible for the student to store only several books in an upright manner because the outside book of the group of books frequently fell over onto the bottom of the book box,

absent some auxiliary device such as abook end to hold the books upright. Hence, the student was required to merely pile the books one upon the other on the lower shelf of the book box with the result that removing books from the book box was quite inconvenient.

An additional shortcoming of prior artschool furniture or student desks is that the modesty panel required in such fumiture is usually inadequately secured to the desk with the result that the construction lacked durability. Such nondurable construction is believed to result from securing the modesty-panel along its top edge to the underside of the top and securing the sides of the modesty panel at only a few points to the remainder of the desk.

By virtue of the unique construction of the desk of this invention there is provided a rugged, durable and inexpensive student desk which overcomes'the shortcomings of the prior art constructions. Among the features of this desk is a unique book box with a sloping sidewall and sloping bottom wall joined at a comer to the sidewall to provide for-conveniently storing books in either a standup or'laydown fashion so books can conveniently be placed in and removed from the book box. A related feature is that the inner sloping wallof the book box is adjacent the knee space of the desk and permits use of a book box wider at its top than the previously known book boxes for a desk of a particular size, without decreasing the usable knee space of the desk. In fact, that portion of the knee space which contributes most to the comfort of thestudent is actually increased so the student has more comfort leg room than with prior art desks having smaller book boxes.

The modesty panel of the desk of this invention is also unique in that the modesty panel has a sloping front. whereby it can be rigidly secured to the bookbox at one sideand can also be rigidly secured to oneof the legs of the desk at the other side. This construction is also accomplished without reducing the comfort knee space of the desk. As a result of the construction of the book box and modesty panel arrangementwith the modesty panel secured to one of the rigid legs of the desk, the legs are braced by the book box and the modesty panel to provide a desk of extremely strong durable-construction.

Correspondingly, an object of this invention is a unique student desk having a book box which 'provides for standup, as well as laydown storage of books and which provides substantial usable knee space for a deskof a particular size.

Another object is a student desk according to theaforementioned object wherein the additional knee space is provided by inclining the sidewall of the bookbox slightly from vertical and by inclining the lower wall of the book box slightly up- Another 'objectis a student desk of rugged construction in which the inner sidewall of the studentdesk is sloped to provide a book box ofsubstantial widthv adjacent its top, and which includes a'notebook shelf spaced slightly from the top of the book box to accommodate books which it is not desired to store in the lower portion of the book box.

An additional object is-a desk of rugged construction in whichthe book box andmodesty panel cooperate with the legs of the desk to reinforce and brace the legs.

A still further object is a student desk having a top and a pair of inverted U-shapedleg assemblies at each side of the top and'inwliich'a book boxand modesty panelcooperate with the legs and top to providea durable desk construction wherein the legs are reinforced by the book box and modesty panel.

Numerous other features and advantages of the student desk of this invention will become apparent with reference to the'drawings, which'form a part of the specification, and in which:

FIG. 1 'is a rearelevational view of the desk of this invention showing the desk as viewed from behind the position of a student sitting at thedesk, and showing books positioned in a standup fashion in the desk book box;

FIG. 2 is a right-hand end view of the desk of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial view, in section, taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 and showing the sloping modesty panel and the manner in which it is secured to one of the supporting legs for the desk;

- FIG. 4 is a partial view, in section, taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view, in section, taken along line 6- 6 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7'is a fragmentary view, in section, taken along line 7- 7 of FIG. 5.

FIG.-8 is a real elevational view similar to FIG. I, but showing books positioned in stacked fashion. Referring now to the drawings in detail and particularly to FIGS. 1-3 there is shown a student desk-l, in accordance with this invention, having a flat top 2, inverted U-shaped leg structures 3 and 4 secured to and extending downwardly from opposite sides of the desk top, a modestypanel 5 and a'book box 6'. Leg structure 3 (FIG. 3) includes tubular legs 7 and 8 which diverge in a direction away from the desk top and which are integrally connected by a short horizontal tubular portion 9 parallel with and extending horizontally alongthe lower face of the top adjacent one side edge of the top. Leg structure 4-is similarly constructed and includes tubular legs 10 and II which diverge in a direction-toward the floor'and which are integrally connected by a tubular horizontal portion l2.Leg. structure 4 extends along the underside of top 2 adjacent theother side edge of the top.

Asshown at FIGS. 1 'and- 2," top 2 is generally rectangular and has parallel side edges Band 14, and parallel front and readedges 15 and 16, respectively; Leg structure-4 is secured to top 2-by an elongated angle bracket 17 (FIG. 6). Angle bracket 17 has a horizontal topleg l8and a vertical side leg l9.-I-Iorizontal-leg 18 has a slight offset so the inner portion 20 of the leg is spaced slightly from'the bottom'surface 2] of top 2, for a purpose which will subsequently be described in detail. The horizontal portion 12 of leg structure 4 is secured to both legs l8'and 19 of the angle bracket by resistance welding and the leg structure is then secured to the top of the desk by tubular portion slightly inwardly of side edge 13 using an angle bracket 23 secured to the leg structure and the desk top in a manner identical to that described for leg structure 4.

As shown at FIG. 2, leg structure 4 includes an elongated strengthening brace 26 which extends between legs and 11 at a location spaced from and parallel with tubular horizontal portion 12. Brace 26 is welded to the respective legs.

Leg structure 3 also has an elongated strengthening brace 27 which extends between legs 7 and 8 and is welded to the respective legs. As shown at FIG. 7, brace 26 is formed from a sheet steel channel of generally inverted U-shaped cross-sectional configuration and opens downwardly as at 28. The inwardly facing surface 29 of the sidewall of brace 26 extends inwardly of a plane tangent to the inside of leg structure 4 for a purpose which will subsequently be described in detail.

Book box 6 is formed from sheet steel and includes an upright sidewall 31 (FIG. 1) integral with a sloping lower wall 32 and a sloping second sidewall 33. Sidewall 31, lower wall 32, and sidewall 33 are formed from a single blank of sheet metal bent at corners 34 and 35 to the configuration shown in FIG. 1. As shown at FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5, the front edges 34 of wall 31-33 are continuous and coplanar and these edges are rolled outwardly, rearwardly, and then inwardly to provide a smooth cylindrical front edge completely free of sharp edges. Rear edges 35 of each of sidewall 31-33 lie in a common plane parallel with front edges 34, and the rear edges are rolled to provide a smooth continuous cylindrical edge at the rear of the book box.

The rear of book box 6 is closed by a rear wall 37 of an outline configuration such that its edges engage the inside surfaces of walls 31-33. The rear wall is formed with flanges 38, 39, and 40 (FIGS. 4 and 5) which extend at a right angle to the plane of the rear wall and engage respectively, the inside surfaces of walls 31, 32, and 33. The rear wall is secured to walls 31-33 by spot welding, as at 41 at spaced-apart intervals along the flanges, so the several flanges 38-40 are secured to these walls. As shown at FIGS. 4 and 5, the outside surface 42 of rear wall 37 is spaced slightly inwardly of rear edges 35.

Extending between the sidewalls 31 and 33 is a combined notebook shelf and pencil tray which takes the form of a flat horizontal intermediate wall 44. The intermediate wall has upwardly turned side flanges 45 and 46, which are bent parallel with the respective sidewalls 31 aNd 33 and engage and are spot welded to these sidewalls to secure the intermediate wall in position. Intermediate wall 44 also has a downwardly turned rear flange 47 which is slightly spaced from and parallel with rear wall 37. The front edge of intermediate wall 44 is rolled downwardly and rearwardly to form a smooth cylindrical bead 49 free of sharp edges. Immediately inwardly of the head 49 is a shallow arcuate depression 40 which forms a pencil tray. Narrow reinforcing tabs 51 and 52 extend upwardly from opposite sides of depression 50 and are spot welded respectively, to sidewall 31 and sidewall 33 to reinforce the front portion of the intermediate wall and maintain it rigid. As shown at FIG. 4, the front edge bead 49 of the intermediate wall is spaced slightly inwardly of the front edge 34 of the book box.

Book box 6 is mounted below the upwardly facing writing surface 60 of top 2 of the desk. FIG. 1 shows the mounting of the book box 6 for a right-handed student. Sidewall 31 is parallel with and adjacent the inside of leg structure 4, and the upper ends of sidewalls 31 and 33 abut lower surface 21 of top 2. Sidewall 33 has an outwardly extending flange 61 (FIG. 4) at its top edge which lies flat against the bottom surface 21 of the top. The flange extends the length of the top edge of sidewall 33 and is provided with suitable openings to receive screws 62, whereby the flange is secured to the top.

Sidewall 31 similarly has an outwardly extending continuous flange 62 along its top edge to facilitate securing this 'side of the book box to top 2. With reference to FIG. 6, outside surface 68 of wall 31 engages leg 19 of angle 17 and, flange 63 extends between the upper surface of inner portion of the leg 18 and the bottom surface 21 of the top, and iscla'mped between inner portion 20 of the angle and the top. In addition,

screws 64 (FIG. 5) may also be inserted through suitable openings adjacent the opposite ends of flange 63 to prevent the flange from slipping out of its clamped position between angle 17 and top 2.

Book box 6 is also secured to leg structure 4. As shown at FIG. 7, the outside surface 68 of sidewall 31 lies flat against the inwardly facing vertical surface 29 of brace 26. The surface 29 projects inwardly of legs 10 and 11 a distance equal to die thickness of leg 19 of angle 17 so wall 31 can be mounted substantially vertical. Wall 31 is secured to brace 26 with pop type rivets which are inserted through aligned openings fonned in wall 31 and the wall 69 of race 26 and the rivets are then expanded in the usual manner by a suitable tool from inside book box 6. The advantage of using pop type rivets is that the outwardly facing exposed wall 70 of brace 26 does not have to be drilled or otherwise be perforrnated to expand the rivets, and hence, presents a more pleasing appearance.

Modesty panel 5 is also formed from sheet metal. As shown at FIGS. 1 and 3, modesty panel 5 is generally trapezoidal, as

'viewed in plan, and extends between wall 33 of the book box and leg 8 of leg structure 3. The modesty panel has a smooth lower edge 70' formed by rolling the material at the edge of the panel to provide a smooth cylindrical reinforced lower edge.

Modesty panel 5 has a side flange 71 which is curved to conform to the cylindrical surface of the leg and extends generally at right angles to the face of the panel. The modesty panel is secured to leg 8 with pop rivets 72, which extend through flange 71 and into the leg. The pop rivets permit forming blind holes in leg 8 so the rivets are not visible from the other side of the leg. Flange 71 is elongated so its upper end can also be riveted to the upright leg of the angle 23 by passing a rivet 73 through a suitable opening and then deforming it. At the opposite side of modesty panel 5 is another side flange 74 (FIG. 4) which extends at right angles to the face of the panel and abuts the outside of sloping sidewall 33. As shown at FIGS. 3 and 4, the top of modesty panel 5 is tilted back away from front edge 15 so it follows the slope of leg 8, and the flange 74 is welded to sidewall 33 with the panel in this inclined position by spot welds 75.

With the desk assembled as shown at FIG. 1, top surface 76 of lower wall 32 extends at an angle of l5 to horizontal and forms a similar angle with the plane of writing surface 60, since the leg structures 3 and 4 support this writing surface in a generally horizontal plane. In addition, the sloping wall 33 extends at an angle of 75 with writing surface 60, and correspondingly makes the same angle with the horizontal. (The angle between sidewall 33 and vertical is l5 This provides a sloping inside surface 77 which joins the inclined surface 76 at an angle of 90 While the specified angles of l5 and 75 respectively, for the inclination of lower wall 32 and sidewall 33 have been found to be of particular advantage, it has been found that angles in the range of 10 to 20-for the inclination of surface 76 and 70 to for the slope of surface 77 are also satisfactory for standup or laydown positioning of books in the book box.

The advantage of sloping or inclining the walls 32 and 33 is to permit books 78 to lean against surface 77 while in the upright position of FIG. 1 without any tendency for the books to fall over toward leg structure 4 as the books would do if walls 32 and 33 were horizontal and vertical, respectively. In addition, there is no tendency at all for the lower edge of the books 78 to slide toward leg structure 4 because of the inclination oflower wall 32.

If desired, books 79 may be placed in the book box in stacked fashion, as shown at FIG. 8, so the sides of the books are parallel with wall 32. When stacked as shown at FIG. 8, the books 79 will have one of their end edges resting against surface 77 of sidewall 33.

An additional advantage of the slope or inclination of sidewall 33 is that book box 6 has substantial width at intermediate wall 44, so that books of substantial height or width, such as the notebook 80 can be placed on the intermediate wall without interference with sides 33 or 31 in the region above the wall.

An additional advantage attained by sloping sidewall 33 is that additional knee space is obtained in the region between the sidewall 33 and leg structure 3. For purposes of explanation, this additional knee space shall be termed knee comfort space because when a student sits at the desk with his knees extending into the knee space, the top of the knee or thigh of the student is usually 3-4 inches from lower surface 21 of top 2. Hence, the tops of the students knees or thighs, designated 81 and shown in phantom lines at FIG. 1, are approximately even with the top surface of intermediate wall 44. By virtue of the sloping side 33, additional space is therefore provided in which the student can move his knees and feet and against which he can comfortably lean one of his legs, if desired.

While modesty panel 5 slopes slightly away from the front edge 15 of the desk top, this slight slope does not den'act from the knee comfort space beneath the desk because a student rarely sits with the chair seat pulled under the desk so his knees can contact the inside surface of the modesty panel.

While the book box and modesty panel of the desk 1 are described as formed from sheet metal, other materials, such as rugged plastic, fiber board, or wood can also be used, whereupon appropriate fabrication techniques will be used to assemble the desk.

While the lower ends of legs 7, 8, l and 11 are shown as integral with the respective leg structures and taper inwardly toward the glides 82 which engage the floor, conventional adjustable lower legs can be used to permit adjusting the height ofthe desk for use by students of various age groups.

In view of the foregoing explanation, it will be apparent that the desk of this invention includes a top 2 with an upwardly facing writing surface 60, horizontally supported by leg structures 3 and 4 at opposite sides of the top. The book box 6 is supported beneath the top adjacent leg structure 4 and is secured to both the top and the leg structure 4 in this offset position at one side of the desk. Front edges 34 and rear edges 35 of the book box lie within and are parallel with vertical planes passing through the front edge 15 and rear edge 16 of the desk top, and modesty panel extends between and is secured to book box 6 and leg structure 3.

What is claimed is:

1. A student desk comprising, in combination a desk structure comprising a top having an upwardly facing writing surface, and

leg means supporting the top with the writing surface in a generally horizontal position;

a book box below said writing surface and comprising a first transversely extending generally upright sidewall,

a second transversely extending sidewall spaced from said first sidewall and presenting a first inside surface facing upwardly and toward said first sidewall, and

a lower wall extending between said first and second sidewalls and having a second inside surface facing upwardly and away from said first sidewall; and

means securing said book box to said desk structure.

2. A student desk according to claim 1 wherein said first and second surfaces extend at an angle of approximately 90 to each other.

3. A student desk according to claim 1 wherein said book box further includes a generally upright rear wall extending between corresponding side edges of said first and second walls and said lower wall.

4. A student desk according to claim 1 wherein said leg means includes a first pair of legs at one side of the top, and

a second pair of legs at the other side of the top; and

said book box is secured to said desk structure with said first sidewall adjacent said first pair of legs and said second sidewall spaced from said second pair of legs to provide a knee space between said second sidewall and said second pair of legs.

5. A student desk according to claim 1 wherein said first surface has a slope in the range of 10 to 20 from vertical; and

said second surface has a slope in the range of 10 to 20 from horizontal.

6. A student desk according to claim 5 wherein the slope of said first surface from vertical is 15 and the slope of said second surface from horizontal is 15 7. A student desk comprising, in combination a desk structure comprising a generally rectangular top having spaced-apart front and rear edges, spaced apart side edges, and an upwardly facing writing surface, and

leg means supporting the top with the writing surface in a generally horizontal position;

said leg means including a first leg structure including a pair of legs adjacent one side edge of the top, and

a second leg structure including a pair of legs adjacent the other side edge of the top;

a book box below said writing surface and comprising a first generally upright sidewall,

a second sidewall spaced from said first sidewall and presenting a first inside surface facing upwardly and toward said first wall, and

a lower wall extending between said first and second sidewalls and having a second inside surface facing upwardly and away from said first sidewall;

means securing said book box to said desk structure with said first sidewall adjacent and secured to said first leg structure and said second sidewall spaced from said second leg structure to provide a knee space between said second sidewall and said second leg structure and with corresponding side edges of said first and second sidewalls and said lower wall in a plane generally parallel with said front edge of the top; and

a generally upright modesty panel extending across said knee space adjacent said front edge of said top;

said modesty panel being secured to said second leg structure and to said book box;

whereby, said box and modesty panel cooperate to reinforce said leg structure against bending.

8. A student desk comprising, in combination a desk structure comprising a top having an upwardly facing writing surface, and

leg means supporting the top with the writing surface in a generally horizontal position;

a book box below said writing surface and comprising a first generally upright sidewall,

a second sidewall spaced from said first sidewall and presenting a first inside surface facing upwardly and toward said first sidewall, and

a lower wall extending between said first and second sidewalls and having a second inside surface facing upwardly and away from said first sidewall;

means securing said book box to said desk structure; and

wherein, said book box further includes an intermediate wall extending horizontally between said first and second sidewalls and between said top and said lower wall.

9. A student desk comprising, in combination a a desk structure comprising a top having an upwardly facing writing surface, and

means supporting the top with the writing surface in a generally horizontal position;

book compartment means below said top for receiving books in a standup, inclined slightly from horizontal position, and in a laydown, inclined slightly from vertical position, said book compartment means comprising a first sidewall of thin sheet metal extending at an acute angle to said writing surface and presenting a first upwardly facing book supporting surface inclined slightly from vertical, and

a lower wall of thin sheet metal extending at an acute angle to said writing surfaceand presenting a second upwardly facing book supporting surface inclined slightly from horizontal, sand lower wall being integral with said first sidewall and extending therefrom at an angle of approximately 90,

a generally upright second sidewall of thin sheet metal integral with said lower wall and in spaced relation to said first sidewall, and

a generally upright rear wall welded to corresponding side edges of said side and lower walls; and

an intermediate wall extending horizontally between and secured to said first and second sidewalls, said intermediate wall being in spaced relation to said lower wall.

10. A student desk comprising, in combination a desk structure comprising an elevated top having an upwardly facing writing surface bounded by horizontally extending front and rear edges and a pair of spaced-apart side edges extending transversely between said front and rear edges; and

means supporting the top with the writing surface in a generally horizontal position;

book support means beneath said writing surface and opening in a direction toward the rear edge of said writing surface, said book support means comprising said wall means extending transversely of said top and presenting a first upwardly facing book support surface extending at an acute angle to said writing surface and generally parallel to the side edges of the writing sur- .3 face; bottom wall means extending transversely of said top and presenting a second upwardly facing book support surface at an acute angle to said writing surface and generally parallel to the side edges of the writing surface, said sidewall means and bottom wall means forming a generally L shaped structure facing toward said top; and means securing said book support means to said desk structure with said book support means offset toward one of the side edges of the writing surface. 11. A student desk according to claim 10 wherein said first and second book support surfaces extend at an angle of relation to each other. 12. A student desk according to claim 1 1 wherein said first book support surface extends at an angle of approximately 75 relative to said writing surface. 13. A student desk according to claim 10 wherein said book support means further includes generally vertical second sidewall means spaced from said first mentioned sidewall means and extending between said bottom wall means and said top. 14. A student desk according to claim 13 wherein said book support means further includes generally vertical rear wall means extending between common end edges of said first and second sidewall means and bottom wall means, and offset toward the front edge of the writing surface. 

1. A student desk comprising, in combination a desk structure comprising a top having an upwardly facing writing surface, and leg means supporting the top with the writing surface in a generally horizontal position; a book box below said writing surface and comprising a first transversely extending generally upright sidewall, a second transversely extending sidewall spaced from said first sidewall and presenting a first inside surface facing upwardly and toward said first sidewall, and a lower wall extending between said first and second sidewalls and having a second inside surface facing upwardly and away from said first sidewall; and means securing said book box to said desk structure.
 2. A student desk according to claim 1 wherein said first and second surfaces extend at an angle of approximately 90* to each other.
 3. A student desk according to claim 1 wherein said book box further includes a generally upright rear wall extending between corresponding side edges of said first and second walls and said lower wall.
 4. A student desk according to claim 1 wherein said leg means includes a first pair of legs at one side of the top, and a second pair of legs at the other side of the top; and said book box is secured to said desk structure with said first sidewall adjacent said first pair of legs and said second sidewall spaced from said second pair of legs to provide a knee space between said second sidewall and said second pair of legs.
 5. A student desk according to claim 1 wherein said first surface has a slope in the range of 10* to 20* from vertical; and said second surface has a slope in the range of 10* to 20* from horizontal.
 6. A student desk according to claim 5 wherein the slope of said first surface from vertical is 15* ; and the slope of said second surface from horizontal is 15* .
 7. A student desk comprising, in combination a desk structure comprising a generally rectangular top having spaced-apart front and rear edges, spaced apart side edges, and an upwardly facing writing surface, and leg means supporting the top with the writing surface in a generally horizontal position; said leg means including a first leg structure including a pair of legs adjacent one side edge of the top, and a second leg structure including a pair of legs adjacent the other side edge of the top; a book box below said writing surface and comprising a first generally upright sidewall, a second sidewall spaced from said first sidewall and presenting a first inside surface facing upwardly and toward said first wall, and a lower wall extending between said first and second sidewalls and having a second inside surface facing upwardly and away from said first sidewall; means securing said book box to said desk structure with said first sidewall adjacent and secured to said first leg structure and said second sidewall spaced from said second leg structure to provide a knee space between said second sidewall and said second leg structure and with corresponding side edges of said first and second sidewalls and said lower wall in a plane generally parallel with said front edge of the top; and a generally upright modesty panel extending across said knee space adjacent said front edge of said top; said modesty panel being secured to said second leg structure and to said book box; whereby, said box and modesty panel cooperate to reinforce said leg structure against bending.
 8. A student desk comprising, in combination a desk structure comprising a top having an upwardly facing writing surface, and leg means supporting the top with the writing surface in a generally horizontal position; a book box below said writing surface and comprising a first generally upright sidewall, a second sidewall spaced from said first sidewall and presenting a first inside surface facing upwardly and toward said first sidewall, and a lower wall extending between said first and second sidewalls and having a second inside surface facing upwardly and away from said first sidewall; means securing said book box to said desk structure; and wherein, said book box further includes an intermediate wall extending horizontally between said first and second sidewalls and between said top and said lower wall.
 9. A student desk comprising, in combination a a desk structure comprising a top having an upwardly facing writing surface, and means supporting the top with the writing surface in a generally horizontal position; book compartment means below said top for receiving books in a standup, inclined slightly from horizontal position, and in a laydown, inclined slightly from vertical position, said book compartment means comprising a first sidewall of thin sheet metal extending at an acute angle to said writing surface and presenting a first upwardly facing book supporting surface inclined slightly from vertical, and a lower wall of thin sheet metal extending at an acute angle to said writing surface and presenting a second upwardly facing book supporting surface inclined slightly from horizontal, sand lower wall being integral with said first sidewall and extending therefrom at an angle of approximately 90*, a generally upright second sidewall of thin sheet metal integral with said lower wall and in spaced relation to said first sidewall, and a generally upright rear wall welded to corresponding side edges of said side and lower walls; and an intermediate wall extending horizontally between and secured to said first and second sidewalls, said intermediate wall being in spaced relation to said lower wall.
 10. A student desk comprising, in combination a desk structure comprising an elevated top having an upwardly facing writing surface bounded by horizontally extending front and rear edges and a pair of spaced-apart side edges extending transversely between said front and rear edges; and means supporting the top with the writing surface in a generally horizontal position; book support means beneath said writing surface and opening in a direction toward the rear edge of said writing surface, said book support means comprising said wall means extending transversely of said top and presenting a first upwardly facing book support surface extending at an acute angle to said writing surface and generally parallel to the side edges of the writing surface; bottom wall means extending transversely of said top and presenting a second upwardly facing book support surface at an acute angle to said writing surface and generally parallel to the side edges of the writing surface, said sidewall means and bottom wall means forming a generally L shaped structure facing toward said top; and means securing said book support means to said desk structure with said book support means offset toward one of the side edges of the writing surface.
 11. A student desk according to claim 10 wherein said first and second book support surfaces extend at an angle of 90* relation to each other.
 12. A student desk according to claim 11 wherein said first book support surface extends at an angle of approximately 75* relative to said writing surface.
 13. A student desk according to claim 10 wherein saiD book support means further includes generally vertical second sidewall means spaced from said first mentioned sidewall means and extending between said bottom wall means and said top.
 14. A student desk according to claim 13 wherein said book support means further includes generally vertical rear wall means extending between common end edges of said first and second sidewall means and bottom wall means, and offset toward the front edge of the writing surface. 